Background

Under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, every licensing board is required to consult upon, and produce, a local licensing policy. Under law, the policy must seek to promote the licensing objectives. These policies have been in place since the onset of the 2005 Act, back in 2009 and have gone through many changes in each local area as the law and local attitudes and evidence has developed. Nowadays, the policies are updated every five years, in a period following the local council elections after which new licensing boards are appointed. This allows the incoming new members of the board to set their own context to their five-year term.

With the most recent local elections in May 2022, now is the time for the new licensing boards to commence consultation on their new policies.
This webpage will be updated on a regular basis with details of all licensing consultations across Scotland (listed below) so please check back for more information.

What is a licensing policy statement?

The policy statement is a very important document for all stakeholders involved in the world of licensing but particularly so for licence holders as it can be described as a sort of “rulebook” for what to expect from a particular licensing board in terms of how they will do their business and carry out their functions under the 2005 Act. The policy, once confirmed, is therefore a very important part of the licensing process. It will affect all licence holders to some extent and for that reason, this forthcoming period of consultation is an opportunity to help shape the local policy for the next five year period. We urge our clients and all licence holders to be engaged in the process and have your views heard.

What will the policy consultations ask about?

You can anticipate that the policy consultations will cover a wide range of issues. High up each licensing board’s agenda will be to assess and put forward new rules regarding areas such as overprovision, licensed hours, and the use of occasional licences. In the past, licensing boards in different parts of the country have listened to licence holders and flexed their policies to allow additional benefits and trading. Examples of this include those licensing boards who, but for one or two exceptions, all moved away from the old-fashioned 12.30pm start on Sunday trading; or boards who have allowed later terminal hours for pubs. We would also expect the consultations to feature an analysis of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic such as the rise of the use of outdoor space and home deliveries.

What can licence holders expect?

  • It is possible that licensing boards will seek to change their overprovision “zones”, if any. We anticipate this will be one of the most important features of the new consultations and expect some licensing boards will introduce new areas, or possible seek to strengthen their existing policies.
  • We expect that home delivery of alcohol will be a significant element of the new policy consultations. From even before the pandemic, many retailers had been submitting variations to have specific wording added to their licences to allow home deliveries and many licensing boards will probably seek to introduce specialist conditions
  • Use of occasional licences has grown significantly during the pandemic area especially for outdoor facilities. Certain temporary arrangements in relation to planning permissions and building warrants all expired on 30 September 2022 so many licence holders who are seeking to make these areas permanent will need to take advice. In addition, boards will have to be cognisant of the decision in Keasim Ltd v City of Glasgow Licensing Board [2021] SC GLW 57 which ruled that there not be an “occasion” or “event” to have an occasional licence, and ruled that a policy inhibiting the number of consecutive occasional licences was ultra vires.
  • There may be reactive questioning on current issues in the news, for example in relation to "spiking", and we anticipate some boards may even use the consultation to explore matters which are not linked to the regulation of alcohol, such as employment practices eg discussions around “safe home” policies.

Who will be consulted?

The 2005 Act requires licensing boards to consult with the Local Licensing Forum, licence holders, the NHS and “other persons”. Typically, the licensing board will engage with groups like resident’s associations, the Police, and would hear from a wide variety of organisations including campaign groups like Alcohol Focus Scotland and others. It is extremely important that licence holders engage with the process to ensure their voice is heard. It is important to note that the policy consultation has to follow certain key rules. The policy must be evidence-led, and ultimately, it must be lawful.

What comes next?

The following is our guide to the consultations across all of Scotland, as and when they are announced. We will provide a note of relevant dates and how to respond, as well as providing analysis of the key issues to watch for in each area. This page will be updated on a regular basis so we encourage our clients and the wider licensed trade to come back and check for the ones you have an interest in on a regular basis. TLT will be responding to all consultations on behalf of many clients. If you would like advice on how a policy may affect you, please contact us for a free initial consultation. This list below shows licensing boards only where the consultation has “gone live”, so if you do not see the board you are interested in, please check back on a regular basis.

Read Aberdeen City's finalised Statement of Licensing Policy (November 2023) on their website.

Read Aberdeenshire Licensing Board's updated Statement of Licensing Policy (2023 - 2028) on their website.

Read Angus Licensing Board's updated Statement of Licensing Policy on their website.

Read Clackmannanshire Licensing Board's Statement of Licensing Policy 2023-28 on their website.

Read Dumfries & Galloway Licensing Board's updated Licensing Policy Statement on their website.

Read Dundee Licensing Board's updated Licensing Policy Statement on their website.

Read East Ayrshire Licensing Board's Statement of Licensing Board policy (November 2023 - November 2028) on their website.

Read East Dunbartonshire's updated Statement of Licensing Policy on their website

Read East Lothian Licensing Board's Statement of Licensing Policy 2023-2028 on their website.

Read Edinburgh Licensing Board's updated Statement of Licensing Policy on their website.

Read Falkirk Licensing Board's Statement of Licensing Policy on their website.

Read Fife Licensing Board's Statement of Licensing Policy on their website.

Read City of Glasgow Licensing Board's updated Policy Statement on their website.

Read Highland Licensing Board Policy Statement (2023 - 2028) on their website.

Read Inverclyde Licensing Board's Policy Statement (1 November 2023 - 31 October 2028) on their website.

Download Midlothian Licensing Board's Licensing Policy Statement 2023-2028 here: https://www.midlothian.gov.uk/downloads/file/1306/licensing_board_policy_statement

Read Moray Licensing Board's Statement of Licensing Policy (30 November 2023 to 29 November 2028) on their website.

Read North Ayrshire Licensing Board's Statement of Licensing Policy 2023-2027 on their website.

Read Orkney Islands Area Licensing Board's updated Licensing Policy Statement on their website.

Read Perth & Kinross Licensing Board's Policy Statement (2023 - 2028) on their website.

Read Renfrewshire Licensing Board's Statement of Licensing Policy (2023 - 2027) on their website.

Read Scottish Borders Licensing Board's Statement of Licensing Policy (November 2023 - November 2028) on their website.

Read Shetland Licensing Board's Statement of Licensing Policy on their website.

Read South Ayrshire Licensing Board's updated Statement of Licensing Policy on their website.

Read South Lanarkshire - Division No. 1 Clydesdale Licensing Board's updated Statement of Licensing Policy on their website.
Read South Lanarkshire - Division No. 2 East Kilbride Licensing Board's updated Statement of Licensing Policy on their website.
Read South Lanarkshire - Division No. 3 Hamilton Licensing Board's updated Statement of Licensing Policy on their website.
Read South Lanarkshire - Division No. 4 Rutherglen and Cambuslang Licensing Board's updated Statement of Licensing Policy on their website.

Read West Dunbartonshire Licensing Board's Statement of Licensing Policy (November 2023 - November 2027) on their website.

Read West Lothian Licensing Board's Statement of Licensing Policy (2023 - 2028) on their website.

Written by

Stephen, McGowan

Stephen McGowan

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